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Robert Cross
Captain Robert Cross, also known as The Specialist, is an elite officer of the Blackwatch. History Early Life Little is known about the early life of Captain Cross before the events of the game, but the comic states that he had participated in Operation Ice Storm in 1998 while a lieutenant in which he along with a small group of Blackwach recruits had to investigate an infected underground city in Antartica, in the end he was the only survivor and it is revealed by a superior that it was some kind of initiation and that it was all a test to enter Blackwatch. All that is revealed about him in the game is that he is Blackwatch's best and he killed the last Hope Runner on his own. General Randall states during the game that Cross always had difficulty seeing the bigger picture, meaning that he has his reservations about using excessive force during Blackwatch assignments. Manhattan Quarantine During the Manhattan Quarantine, he leads The Wisemen Team. He and his men are tasked with finding and capturing Alex Mercer, codenamed Zeus. At one point during the campaign, Cross is given the task of injecting Alex with a parasite that would neutralize Alex, his powers, and produce an anti-virus within his body. Karen Parker, working with Blackwatch to trap Alex, reveals his location at an Infected Hive, and Cross confronts him inside of it. Although Alex wins the fight, Captain Cross throws Alex off guard by reminding him of Penn Station (activating memories in this fashion causes apparent pain to Alex, and thus he was left vulnerable). As he administers the "Cure" to Alex, he says, "In a way, I feel sorry for you." Unlike most of his superiors and subordinates, he shows emotional regret for his actions and sympathy for the New Yorkers. He later contacts Alex to have him help evacuate some of his men, and later defeat the infection. However, his life ends when the Supreme Hunter consumes him during the Blackwatch evacuation of Manhattan. Powers & Abililities Captain Cross fights with a shock baton, a customized arm-mounted grenade launcher and many cluster-grenades. He is also infected with the Virus to a controlled extent, but not at the same levels as Elizabeth Greene, Alex or the super soldiers. He is strong enough to resist blows that would be lethal to any normal human, and his reflexes allow him to keep pace with the superhumanly strong and fast Alex. He is also said to have killed the last runner on his own. Age According to the Official Strategy Guide, Cross is 38 years old. This is an odd detail, because according to the game, he killed the last runner from the Hope, Idaho incident, which happened in 1969, 40 years before the events of the game. While this implies he could not have had any involvement in Operation: Altruistic, it is a possibility that he does not age, or at least possesses a slower rate of aging from the virus (admittedly, that does not account for the discrepancy), also it is not specifically stated that Cross killed the runner directly following the Hope incident, instead, the runner could have been killed by Cross years later. As displayed in a Web of Intrigue memory, Cross's physical appearance does not appear to have changed much since Hope. Theories One incorrect theory states that Captain Cross is actually PARIAH due to his resilience, strength, and speed. This is reinforced by his supposed age (38), which would have his birth right around the end of the Hope, Idaho incident. If you look at Elizabeth Greene's memory, you can see a man with what look to be scars matching those found on Cross. Furthermore, Captain Cross's name could be derived from Project Crusade (Cross=Crusade). The game does not actually note when the last runner was killed, so it's possible that if Blackwatch couldn't find her for a few years, they may have released PARIAH, who was already able to kill as an infant, at an early age to hunt down the last Runner. This would explain his compassionate outlook on people, even those infected: Blackwatch would have done everything possible to keep him from going rogue, basically brainwashing a regard for life (as apposed to the reverse that most Blackwatch soldiers possesed) to prevent him from killing anything against orders. This however is unlikely, because all the various references to PARIAH as being the ultimate evolution for all life on Earth. It is extremely improbable that a being in such an advanced evolutionary state could possibly have been consumed by an inferior viral strain, a cure created to and failed to destroy his imperfect equivalent, Alex. Another possibility associated with Cross and PARIAH, is that Cross is the father of PARIAH. Elizabeth Greene was pregnant during the infection of Hope and Hope was identified as an army town. If this theory is correct, it would make Cross among the first to be exposed and survive the infection. Thereby explaining his apparently slowed aging and given the likelihood he was involved in the cleanup operation of Hope during the first outbreak, his appearance in Greene's memories and his care and concern for the people of New York. Trivia *The developers stated that using The Specialist Cross is because they needed a human foe for Alex to face and have a chance of losing. Gallery File:Prototype-20080107113707069-000.jpg|Concept art Concept-Cross-1-.jpg 1062559-prototype 124 super-1-.jpg 1062735-prototype 243 super-1-.jpg 1062571-prototype 134 super-1-.jpg Category:Blackwatch characters Category:Enemies Category:Deceased Characters Category:Main Characters